History freely dilates and collapses on Valgeir Sigurðsson’s Dissonance, his first solo release since 2012. Its three large-scale works are haunted by the old Western tradition, infused with the ethereal workings of electronics and sound manipulation.

Dissonance treads elegantly along a fine line between traditional symphonic organicism and the fissures of the faltering structures of reality. It takes forward Sigurðsson's typically expansive, panoramic writing, and elevates it to a perpetual construction and deconstruction of time and space.

These are hardly his first experiments with the archaic technology of classical instruments, but here the distance between past and present is precisely what the music itself is designed to explore, and to distort.

Recorded and produced between September 2015 and November 2016 at Greenhouse Studios, Dissonance is disarmingly human, reflecting the most extreme four years of Sigurðsson’s life full of ecstatic joy and deep sorrow. Dissonance is a personal and collective musical treatise to explore and question a world that is collapsing under its internal dissonances.

The recording process on Dissonance incorporates an orchestral recording technique that Sigurðsson has been developing for some years now, where he breaks up the orchestra and records each of its sections separately. Layer after layer he records performances by collaborators Liam Byrne and Reykjavík Sinfonia. A handful of string players and just one of each of the orchestra's instruments are then multiplied to create an imaginary orchestra. This method enables Sigurðsson's complete control over all the details and nuances, and the trade-off for the time-consuming process is a truly unique sounding ensemble that is at the composer's disposal for further electronic manipulation. This also results in an elastic palette of sound for the live performance version of Dissonance which Sigurðsson will take to the stage in 2017, alongside Liam Byrne (on strings) and visuals created by the Antivj collective.

This music is first and foremost about what can be done together, live in a room, to both transcend and reclaim ourselves from the noise of public living. I’m waging a sort of secular, one-man liturgy here; a public act grounded in ritual. These songs offer wordless hymns and pulsing harmonic frameworks one might use to focus their own contemporary values. Instrumental music particularly offers the opportunity for personal interpretation and reflection. In this ever-fucked world, that seems perpetually in short supply.
“To engage with ritual is to engage with time. I needed to create a way to play solo that would let me wield the temporal freedom of expressive instrumental music with the full palette of modern electronic forces. I banned backing tracks, click tracks, and even live looping - anything that would enforce a strict grid. I wanted time back in electronic music.
“I also wanted the body back; our rituals begin with the physical. All sounds originate from me kicking a drum, playing the violin, or various natural percussion sources. I built software that lets me do all this, free here". This offers an unprecedented amount of control over this music’s elastic sense of time. Electronic music without the grid. There’s so much space in this music, it’s just essential - listening to a phrase decay in the room before proceeding. Likewise, there are no overdubs in these recordings; it’s just me, 6 mics, and 3 video cameras.
“Yes, the whole record’s also on video: a Video Album. We avoided the recording studio, preferring a spacious hall in what was once a psych ward and then a schoolhouse. Again, I’m trying to pull you into the live ritual, into the room. A video isn’t a live event but it does evoke it. I bring my own artifacts: triangles, a pasture bell, and tuning forks in particular: I use these as first order musical instruments, beginning with a percussive strike and then, while resonating, processed through my bridge into shifting melodies.
“So there’s a bunch of new stuff here. Real novelty isn’t an indication of quality but it does require a bit of bravery perhaps. We need to take chances.
“But enough about not-me. I’ve been creating instrumental music a long time now, under my own name and via bands (Slow Six, Wires Under Tension). I’ve also built software a long time - yes, I do this for Google. I did my time in Princeton’s PhD program for music composition, NYU’s Masters of computer science program, and at Bard studying creative writing. I worked live sound for years at NYC clubs now gone (CBGB’s, Brownies) while immersing myself in minimalism, working sound for a music festival produced by Mr. Glass and assisting LaMonte Young. As a string arranger I get to work with lots of great artists including John Congleton, This Will Destroy You, and Meshell Ndegeocello to name a few. I’ve worked as a bike messenger, snowboard instructor, and Emergency Medical Technician...buy me a whiskey and I’ll tell you the rest…”
– Christopher Tignor

For close to a decade, Portland's Peter Broderick has cut his own unpredictable path through the world of contemporary music. So far, his wanderings have led him from solo works into the realms of film, dance and documentary scores, as well as art installations. Now Peter takes that unpredictability one step further. For his latest album, a series of voice and piano recordings, he experiments with chance, surrendering an entire song's composition to the roll of dice. It was John Cage's tendency to remove himself from his music, to somehow automate his own process, which inspired the strange mechanics with which this record was created. In the words of Cage himself, 'the world is teeming; anything can happen.' Includes download code.

Followers of the Sonic Pieces catalogue will already be familiar with the individuals of F.S.Blumm and Nils Frahm as well as their acclaimed work as a duo. But even though they’re making use of familiar instruments their new album Tag Eins Tag Zwei manages to add a new tone to their already unique language. By trading their post-processed sound sculptures that made up the two preceding albums in for intimate pieces of improvisation, this collaboration merges into the most soothing and life affirming recording the two have produced so far.
Guitars and toys are flowing next to piano and harmonium like an organic combination, shaping nine suits that abnegate any common categorization. Involving classical, jazz and folk influences it’s the genuine use of tricks and delays that lift these improvisations above the ordinary and makes them both incredibly relaxing and exciting at the same time. It is almost ironic that by capturing accidental moments of free playing, Frank and Nils are succeeding at an even more impressive scale than their already highly satisfying previous output.
The result delivers a perfect example of how immediacy can be the most powerful approach to creating music. Based on a remarkable understanding of each other’s phrasing the pair of sessions that comprises this album shows two vivid artists at the peak of their game: Unconditional spontaneity.

"Escapism has a lovely, tender feel to it. Running by the Roads, Running by the Fields introduces a piano that dances gracefully on the tips of its toes. It's the sound of an early morning in the coldest season. The cello is forever dressed in gold, and the piano sustains her. But like life in general, it's also a frail and fragile sound. It's something to savour. Extremely delicate lines play on as the piano accompanies her on her path. Sweeping, soft phrases come to light, and generally the tone is gentle and soporific. Feathers is lighter. The cello drifts in and out, pausing for breath now and again. The piano passages pick up speed, and as they do the whole piece drives forward. It presses in, and then backs out and away. The cello, played by Julia Kent, has a tender, emotional depth; it's trying to get to something deeper. The piano and celeste, played by David Wenngren, do more than just support the cello. Every second is a single, precious moment. Library Tapes knows this every note, every shudder of the bow, is played as if it's the last. Like a piece of dusty jewellery, the music sparkles, but its colour has been dulled. Achieving Closure helps to banish the shadows. Chimes ring out as the cello swoops and swoons, bringing with it a light as bright as the earlier sun. With its delayed hope, it pierces the frosty glass of the soul." -Fluid Radio

With solo piano pieces sprinkled through The Flashbulb's discography, Compositions For Piano has been a longtime coming. The album ranges from simple classical fugues to complex jazz arrangements and extends to robotic controlled percussion using dampened strings and electromagnetic resonating (imagine a large Ebow). The album is a break from the distraction of production, and 100% musicianship.

Happy
Piano Day!
—
and welcome to the first holiday
which celebrates the piano
What's this all about?
At the end of 2014 I had an immediate urge to release a solo piano album which I recorded some time ago, and I was looking for a specific occasion to do so. I wanted it to be a nice surprise for everyone, so I thought of a meaningful release date to begin with.
Seconds later it came to my mind: I was about to create my own holiday in order to come up with a reason for this release. Moreover, if I could be proud of something, then of being responsible for an annual celebration of the piano. And here comes the best bit, Piano Day will happen on the 88th day of the year, which most of the time is the 29th of March. Piano Day is intended to be the most joyful of all holidays.
My album –solo– can be downloaded in any desired format and can be listened to for free. For those who like the real thing, there is a vinyl and all other kinds of round discs available (sorry, these are not for free). It would be appreciated if you get this thing on vinyl, simply because it’s very nice looking and sounding! Anyways, this is all part of a fundraising enterprise for a very special piano project. So please read on for a bit …

Atomos is the upcoming second album by ambient music duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen. The album is due to be released on October 6, 2014 on the labels Erased Tapes and Kranky.
The album contains the music from the original score for Atomos, a dance piece by contemporary choreographer Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor Random Dance. The music was recorded in Summer 2013, in studios in Brussels, Berlin and Reykjavik. Regarding the recording process, pianist Dustin O'Halloran has commented: "We never imagined 2013 would be such an explosively creative year. The first record took us two years from start to finish, but in the micro span of time over last summer we were able to change the formula for the way we write, record, and let go. It was incredibly liberating."[1] The dance piece premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 9 October 2013.
The album was preceded by the Atomos VII EP, which was released on April 28, 2014. Besides the title track, the EP also contained 'Minuet For A Cheap Piano Number One' (an outtake from the A Winged Victory for the Sullen album sessions) and a reinterpretation of 'Atomos VII' by Australian composer Ben Frost.

Recorded over 2012 in Melbourne, Oslo and Reykjavík, pianist/composer Luke Howard's inaugural solo album draws upon the minimalist approach of his previous projects, conjuring rich cinematic soundscapes using piano, strings and electronics. The record features members of the Melbourne Symphony and Oslo Philharmonic, along with past collaborators Janos Bruneel and Leonard Grigoryan. Sun, Cloud was long-listed for the 2013 Australian Music Prize.

The first album by Ben Lukas Boysen (also known for being the musician behind Hecq), "Gravity" is a deeply personal work in which this highly-praised producer sheds the artifacts of electronic music to compose a solemn and touching album of beauty and depths. Melancholic piano lines, warm analogue sound, tender drums: "Gravity" is only as sad as you want it to be, for it is first a solitary and introvert journey through heights and emotions. Much more than a new beginning: a revealing.

Sarah Neufeld (born August 27, 1979) is a Canadian violinist who is known for her work with indie rock band Arcade Fire, with whom she is a former core member and currently a touring member. She has contributed to each of the band's studio albums, to date.

Icelandic composer +"lafur Arnalds releases his first Hollywood film score -- the original motion picture soundtrack for Sam Levinson's feature film debut Another Happy Day, starring Ellen Barkin and Demi Moore. In his own words: "In mid-December 2010, I was on a holiday in China when I received an email from Sam Levinson about the film. We got on the phone at, like, 4 in the morning Beijing-time and ended up talking all through the night, instantly connecting. He told me that they had been listening to my music while making the film, so the film was already very influenced by my music. However, it was not until Ellen Barkin -- the beautiful force that she is -- had pestered the producers for a week, calling them every day about how I am the right one for this film, that they finally gave in. The only catch was that it had to be done two weeks later, in the first week of January. So I ended up scoring non-stop all throughout Christmas, making my mother mad in the process."

Conductor – Krzysztof Penderecki (tracks: 1, 6), Marek Moś (tracks: 2 to 5, 7 to 15)
Coordinator [Studio] – Leszek Iwaniuk
Design – Dustin Stanton
Engineer – Ewa Guziołek-Tubelewicz, Piotr Witkowski (2)
Engineer [Consultant] – Graeme Stewart
Liner Notes – Ronen Givony
Orchestra – Aukso Orchestra*
Producer – Filip Berkowicz, Michał Merczyński
Producer [Associate] – Barbara Orzechowska
Artwork – Shin Katan

This album represents the piece as conceived and reconceived for the stage, and then reconceived again as pure music (the movement “Gone, Not Forgotten,” for instance, is exclusive to this recording). Created, pored over and developed: the result is a meticulously designed structure, a sound architecture of musical and physical gestures and stillnesses.

This album is Peter and Nils's collaboration album.
The artist name of "oliveray" consists of Nils oliver Frahm & Peter ray Broderick's middle names.
It's a new band.
Here are the songs of various types.
There is a song that Nils' tender piano melody intertwine to Peter's violin.
There is a song that Nil's piano quietly accompanies Peter's guitar
strum and quiet melody.
There is a song that makes us feel as if listening to it at the end of universe.